Always feel free to call us at 719-387-9800. Our offices are closed on Fridays May thru December, but we periodically check our voicemail to ensure nothing is on fire or to see if someone is offering free beer.

Thank you!

The Watson CPA Group

Most Personal Tax Returns

$300 to $600

INCLUDES SMALL BIZ, RENTALS AND STATE

Most Small Biz / LLC Tax Returns For

$300 to $600

INCLUDES BIZ SCHEDULES AND STATE

Most Corp and Partnership Tax Returns

$700 to $950

INCLUDES CONSULT, K1s AND STATE

Most Flight Crew Tax Returns

$300 to $450

PER DIEM CALCS, CREW EXPENSES

Most Individual Tax Returns For

$300 to $600

INCLUDES SMALL BIZ, RENTALS AND STATE

Small Business Formation

$375-$425 Plus State Fees

INCLUDES ARTICLES, EIN, S CORP, CONSULT

Payroll Processing For

$135 Per Month

5 EMPLOYEES, BI-WEEKLY, DIRECT DEPOSIT

The One Call Team

Working in Concert

YOUR ONE STOP SHOP FINANCIAL TEAM

Most Accounting Services For

$250 to $400 Per Month

FINANCIALS, BANK REC, CONSULT

S Corp Payroll, Consult, Tax Prep

$200 Per Month

INCLUDES INCOME MODELING, CONSULT

Most LLCs and Small Biz Tax Returns

$300 to $600

INCLUDES BIZ SCHEDULES AND STATE

Most Personal Tax Returns For

$300 to $600

INCLUDES SMALL BIZ, RENTALS AND STATE

Most Pilot - Flight Attendant Taxes

$300 to $450

PER DIEM CALCS, CREW EXPENSES

Most Rental Property Tax Returns For

$300 to $600

INCLUDES DEPRECIATION AND STATE

Most ExPat Tax Returns For

$400 to $500

INCLUDES FOREIGN INCOME EXCLUSION

Retirement and Estate Planning

NO OBLIGATION CONSULTATION

Small Business Formation

$375-$425 Plus State Fees

INCLUDES ARTICLES, EIN, S CORP, CONSULT

Small Biz and LLCs Tax Prep

Starting and running a small business can be very challenging, but very exciting. Probably more of a pain in the butt, yet most business owners start a company to do something they love. That passion can be a great motivator, but it can also be a detractor. Proper tax preparation and planning, recordkeeping of your small business tax deductions and money handling is a must. This is just the operational stuff- you also have to consider entity structure, exit strategies, risk mitigation, retirement planning and all that hoopla.

Small Business Tax Preparation

If you are a sole proprietor or a single-member LLC (SMLLC) without an S corporation election, your small business transactions will be reported on Schedule C of your personal tax return (Form 1040). As you might know, a single-member LLC is considered a disregarded entity, therefore it does not have a separate small business tax return- this is a common misconception. Our fee for this tax return preparation is typically $300 to $600 depending on how much stuff you have going on (good organization can overcome complexity… then again, being disorganized can make the simplest of small businesses seem like a full audit of Google). Either way we can help- it’s what we do all day, every day.

For example, many small business owners have a home office, yet they might also have another work location. This needs to be handled correctly to not have the home office disallowed. Automobiles? Should the company own it, or should you? Mileage deduction or actual expenses? These too must be properly discussed and accounted for on your tax returns. We will also help with SEP IRA (old school) or solo 401k plan (new school) contributions calculations, and determine what the best course of action is.

If you created a limited liability company with your spouse, you can elect to be treated as a qualified joint venture. The IRS views a multi-member LLC (MMLLC as opposed to SMLLC) as a partnership, and therefore the IRS is expecting a partnership tax return on Form 1065 and K-1s issued to the partners. Yuck. However you and your spouse can elect to bypass this additional tax preparation, simply split the company’s financials and file this information on a individual tax return.

For small business tax preparation, click on the Get Started button above or use this button-

Small Business Tax Deductions

There are several tax deductions available to small business owners. The obvious ones like printer paper and business cards are easy. But what about cell phones? What is the business use of a shared family plan? How about home offices? Meals and Entertainment- is it 50% or 100%? When can a meal be 100% deducted? Spoiler alert- a pizza party for the office is 100% deductible, but if the office is just you, then No. But if the office is you and your spouse, then Yes. Boom!

Self-employed health insurance and health savings accounts (HSAs) can be tricky, and many small business owners leave money on the table by deducting these on Schedule A versus Form 1040. This little gotchya could cost you several hundred dollars in taxes. Have you considered a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) or a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for deducting dependent care benefits? Being a business owner has long hours and lousy pay- squeeze as much out of it as you can!

These are the type of things the Watson CPA Group will consult with you. Oftentimes the taxpayer or small business owner gets in trouble because he or she did not understand the rules. Once you know the rules and how to apply the rules, owners can take advantage of small business tax deductions without worry or concern.

Self Employed 401k Plan

Once you launch your shiny new small business, you might also consider the several small business retirement plans which include solo 401k plans, profit sharing plans, cash balance and defined benefits pensions. For example, with a solo 401k plan or self employed 401k plan piggybacked with a defined benefits pension, you could sock away over $192,000 at age 50. All tax deferred if you like, which could yield a savings of over $86,000 (assuming a 45% marginal tax rate with federal and state). Wow!

Can’t contribute to a Roth IRA because you make too much? Perhaps a solo 401k plan with Roth option is your best bet with high contribution limits and no income phaseouts. Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Schwab, etc. offer solo 401k plans, but they do not have a Roth option in the plan provision. The Watson CPA Group is a 401k plan third party administrator (which means we created our own 401k plan document) that has a Roth option. In turn, the big boys at Fidelity, TD Ameritrade and Schwab will honor our 401k plan document to be the custodian of your 401k. Huh? Contact us for more information!

Note how we purposely did not mention SEP IRAs. These are old school and are usually designed to be crisis management tools (after the fact) rather than good planning tools and more product self employed retirement plans. Read more about the various self employed retirement options, including retirement tax bombs and the difference between tax deferral and tax savings below-

S Corp Package

The Watson CPA Group specializes in S corporations which have a small number of shareholders, and often just a one-person show. Did you know that 95% of all S Corps have only one shareholder, and 99% of all S Corps have three or fewer shareholders? Small business owners is all we do!

Because it is a core competency for us, we have created an S corp package that includes the following (No, the S doesn’t stand for stormtrooper)-

Couple of things to keep in mind- we make very little profits on payroll processing… we offer it as a convenience to our clients. One throat to choke with a single call can be reassuring but if you want to run your payroll, go for it!. And… the benefit of the Watson CPA Group preparing both tax returns is that we slide things around depending on income limitations, phaseouts, alternative minimum tax (AMT), etc. Having our arms around both can yield some good tax savings!

Some more things to consider- Since only a partial year remains, our usual annual fee is pro-rated to not charge you for services you didn’t use (like payroll and consultation). However, a large chunk of our annual fee is tax preparation which is typically a fixed amount of $1,200 (both corporate and personal). Whether we onboard you in January, July or December, we have to prepare a full year tax return. This increases the monthly fee for the remaining months of 2017 but the monthly fee will later decrease in January of 2018 to reflect the amounts above.

The button below links to our Periodic Business Review (PBR) Agenda. We use this throughout the year as a checklist for our business clients. We can also use it for any type of business consultation.

How does all this work? Let’s chat! Your unique situation will probably fit the S corporation world, but a dialogue is much better to determine the viability. Contact us to schedule a consultation. If all goes well, we will prepare a proposal which outlines the scope of services. View a sample proposal here.

Recordkeeping

Keeping accurate records is actually pretty easy, especially if you have a dedicated checking account for the business. Two elements are required to meet IRS standards- a written log or record of the business purpose, and evidence of the amount paid, date and to whom. Bank account or credit card statements in conjunction with financial or accounting software such as Money, Quicken or QuickBooks will cover most of your business expenditures. A trip to WalMart or Home Depot would probably require a detailed receipt since you can buy paper and diapers at a WalMart. Read more about proper small business recordkeeping here-

Money Handling

The biggest and most repeated mistake that small business owners commit is to spend company funds on personal items. Do not pay the house mortgage with your business checkbook! Write a check to yourself (or make a transfer), and then write the mortgage check. Items such as gas for your car seem business related- unless the vehicle is 100% business use and owned (and titled) in the business name, then it becomes a mixed use vehicle, and the gas purchase should be handled the same way as the mortgage check. Then, you turn in expense reimbursements to your company for the expense. This is called an Accountable Plan- contact us for more details.

Hobby Versus Business

Is your business really a hobby? There several step by step criteria that the IRS and Tax Courts will use to determine if you have a genuine profit motive, or if you are just playing around with your business. There is no hard and fast rule such as the ubiquitous three years of consecutive losses rule. Recently the Tax Court upheld a track coach’s eight years of consecutive losses as a legitimate business. Read more about hobbies here-

Business Coach, Advisors, Consultants, et al

The Watson CPA Group can also help you with business decisions such as marketing, hiring and training a staff, logistics, supply chain, and other issues that entrepreneurs face every day. We also have experience with business acquisitions, valuation, SBA loans and lending, and designing exit strategies. Most business owners don’t think about exit strategies, but this becomes critical when getting involved with another partner.

We are your Colorado Springs Accountants, and your Denver Accountants too. We look forward to working with you! And even if you don’t live in Colorado, we can still provide excellent service through modern technology and our client portal. If you live somewhere really cool like Santa Barbara or New York, our team is more than willing to travel. Even Chicago has its moments.